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IHC lets lawyers meet Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi in jailPakistan
The Islamabad High Court has directed authorities to arrange one-hour meetings for the couple’s lawyers at Adiala Jail as appeals in the £190m case continue.
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The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday allowed the lawyers of former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to meet them at Adiala Jail, directing the authorities to arrange one-hour meetings as their appeals in the 190 million pound Al-Qadir Trust case continue.
A two-member bench headed by Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif issued the directions during the hearing of the appeals against the couple’s convictions. Imran Khan’s counsel, Salman Safdar, and Bushra Bibi’s counsel, Sardar Latif Khosa, will meet their clients on Wednesday.
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The court said the permission was being granted in accordance with the law, but cautioned the lawyers against later seeking permission to include five additional people in the list of visitors allowed to meet Imran Khan at the jail. The chief justice also asked Safdar why another meeting was needed, noting that he had met the couple only a few days earlier.
Safdar replied that the time allowed at the previous meeting had not been enough to take full instructions. He told the court that he had met Imran Khan after seven months and Bushra Bibi after 11 months, and that the earlier meeting had lasted only about 40 minutes. The court initially allowed Khosa to meet both Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi before granting similar permission to Safdar.
Health concerns raised in court
During the hearing, Safdar also raised concerns about Bushra Bibi’s health. He told the court that she had informed him at their previous meeting that prison authorities had taken her for surgery six months ago and that another operation was scheduled for 15 November. He requested the formation of a medical board to assess her health and said prison authorities had acknowledged before the Supreme Court that she was suffering from an eye condition.
Safdar said he had not yet filed a bail application on medical grounds and argued that Bushra Bibi could not receive adequate treatment in prison. He added that she had been returned to her prison cell on the same day as her surgery, despite doctors having performed the procedure on an emergency basis, which he said was inappropriate.
Islamabad Advocate General Naveed Malik told the court that Bushra Bibi was receiving medical treatment in prison. He submitted details of the medical facilities and treatment provided to her, and informed the court that a medical board had visited her for an examination on 8 November. The court directed that further details be sought from the prison authorities.
The hearing was adjourned for 10 days, and the court urged Khosa to begin arguments on the appeals at the next hearing. The attorney general had told the court the meetings could be arranged if the lawyers assured the court that arguments would begin at the next hearing.
An accountability court had earlier sentenced Imran Khan to 14 years in prison with a fine of one million rupees, while Bushra Bibi was sentenced to seven years with a fine of 500,000 rupees. The case concerns allegations that funds of 50 billion rupees returned by Britain’s National Crime Agency in 2019 were adjusted during Imran Khan’s tenure as prime minister. The National Accountability Bureau filed its reference in December 2023, and charges were framed in February 2024.
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